Spike



(VNO Model.)

W. GOLDE.

SPIKE. No. 394,113. Patented Dec. 4, 188s.

l c Cz ,L

:/ fe e f [E fx 9 7=/\\P @M9171 'sgi-v. ;\5 -2 NRM lv PLIERS. Puma Lumguphn Wallington, n. C.

Unire STATES PATENT (linnen.Z

wWILLIAM GOIIDIE, OF IESTBAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 394,113, dated December 4, 1888.

Application letl October 30, 1888. Serial No. 289,560. (No inodeh.

To all whom, it 71mg/ concern.'

Be it known that. I, XVILLIAM GoLDtE, a citizen ot the Vnited States, residing at West Bay City, in the county ot- Bay and State ot' Michigan, have invented certain new and uset'ul lmprovements in Spikes; and I do declare the following to be a tull, clear, and exact description ot' the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference heilig had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and tigures otI reference marked thereon. which form a part ot' this speciiicatioi'i.

This invention relates to .improventents in spikes, and is more especially adapted to spikes used in the construction ol' railroads; and the invention pertains entirely to the point on the portion which punctnres the wood and prepares a passage for the spike-body therein, and is more particularly an improvement on the point commonly and well known as the lance-point, or a point provided on its lateral sides with centra ily-located cutti ngedges, which extend diagonally upward from the center o't' the point to the lateral sides thereot and divide the fiber otA the wood with a' shearing cut when driven.

illy invention consists, chiefly, in a spikepoint formed with oblique cutting-edges located coincident with the rear side edges or corners ot' the rear side compressing bevel or the rear inclined surface obtained by reducing the end on the front and rear to t'orm the puncturing portion or point proper; and my invention further consists in a spike-point formed with diagonal cutting-edges on the rear corners of the lateral sides and with oblique side facets for compressing outwardly on one side of the point the ends of the severed iber of the wood, while on the opposite side of the point the severed ends oi' the fiber retain their original position undisturbed and unbroken lllhile spikes having a lance-shaped point provided in the ordinary way with centrallylocated oblique cutting-edges,which divide the fiber of the wood with a shearing cut, answer to a great extent the purpose for which they are intended, they are still imperfect on account of the eXtreme regularityv required in their forni and construction, as a perfect uniformity of bevels, dse., must be obtained in forming the oblique cutters in order to allow the spike to enter the wood and retain while heilig' driven the same relative posit-ion as had when started, or, to be more explicit, to insure its passage into position in the timber without twisting or partially turning as it is driven, as the least variation in the correspoiiding bevels on the opposite sides ot' the oblique cutters causes the grain of the timber to present a different resistance in their ci-.nnpressing action, which continues to operatic to a greater degree the spike passes farther into the timber, which action or detect is more particularly troublesome in railway-spikes, as they must be especially adapted to resist a crowding strain against the rails, and it is extremely necessary that they should be uniformly held to bear, with the tull width of their body beneath the head, against the side edges of the rail-fianges, and more especially the spikes which are driven outside ot' the rails and subjected to the crowding action oi' the cars; and the objects ot' my invention are to provide a spike with a point which, while it divides the fiber ot the timber with a clean shearing cut, will also pass into the timber in the saine relative position it had when started.

Another object of my invention is to provide a spike with a point which will cut through the tiber and pass into the timber without conqLn-essing or` disturbing the tiber of the wood on the rear wall ot' the spike opening or passage, whereby aA more solid and reliable supporting-wall is required to sustain the spike against a crowdin strain of the rail.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, similar letters of reference in which indicate similar parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure l is a front side view oi' a railwayspike containing my invention. Fig. 2 is view oi' the rear side o1" the saine. Fig. 3 is a view of one ot' the lateral sides of the same. `Fig. et is the same illustrated in position in a broken tie-section, with transverse section of the rail. Fig. 5 is a transverse section of the point at .r shown as entering the broken tiesection.

a represents the head portion ot' a spike. b is the body. c is the iront side of the body,

IOO

and d is the rear side thereof, while e and f are the lateral sides.

g represents the point, and is herein shown as provided with the rear side, h, slightly sloping toward the center of the point, and with the sloping front side, y2', which forms the required compressing-surface for removing the wood to provide a proper passage or opening for the spike-body. The lateral sides of the point are each provided with an oblique facet, 0, the form of the facets being oblique to the lateral sides and also oblique in relation to the sloping compressing-face t', so that diagonal cuttingedges 1) are formed by the facets o meeting the rear face, 7L, the edges beginning at the center of the extreme point and diverging upward to the lateral sides of the point atfsome distance above the `extreme point or puncturing end q, and of course are located coincident with the rear face, hi.

The spike-point, on entering the wood, first, by means of the diagonal cutting-edges p, divides the fiber or grain with a clean shearing cut, and the oblique facets o turn and compress the ends of the severed fiber outwardly toward the side grain of the timber that is beyond the spike and undisturbed, and also forces the fiber backwardly to form a passage for the spike-body, and the rear side, 7L, following downward on the line of cut made by the edges p, leaving the severed ends of the ber undisturbed by compression to abut solidly against the rear side, (l, of the spike body when driven in position. The rea-r face, 71, is formed, as herein shown, as slightly slopinggrin 'order to overcomeY the tendency of the oblique facets 0 to crowd and cause the point proper, or extreme puncturing end q, to lead backward; and it will be noticed on inspection of Fig. 3 that the cutting-edges p do not stand parallel with the longitudinal center of the spike, but lead backwardly according to the slope or bevel of the rear side, 7L, which has the effect of partially compensating for the force of the compressing action against the'front face, '1'. It will be seen', of course, that the cutting-edges in lie in the same vertical plane as the rear face, d, and that little or no compression of the wood ber can occur in rear of the spike, and the rear face, d, therefore forms a guiding-surface which always conducts the spike in a direction coincident with the plane thereof, and hence the spike, following the line of the plane of the rear side, must retain the position in which it is placed in starting relative to the grain of the timber, however great the irregularities may be of the oblique facets 0 or the angular form of the cutting-edges p,

as the compressing action obtains entirely upon the front sideof the spike as it passes into `the timber.

As I have illustrated my invention in the drawings, the rear face, d, is slightly sloping; but this form is not essentially important, except that it serves in soft timber to force the spike firmly against the rail-:flanges during the drivingl operation, and sets the cuttingedges to lead slightly toward the front and partly compensates for the backward strain of the compressing bevel t; but I lwish to state that I do not confine my invention e11- tirely to forming my improved point with a sloping bevel on the rear side thereof, as different kinds of timber require a slight modi- Iication in the form of the bevels in order to reach the proper result; and for driving in the harder or more dense varieties of wood the slope on the rear side of the point maybe entirely dispensed with and the result will be the same and entirely satisfactory, the dense wall on the rear side of t-he spike in the harder t woods servin to direct the point and prevent the tendency to lead rearwardly, as I have before explained in relation to the use of the .spike in the softer and more porous woods;

and the diagonal cutting-edge arranged or lying in a perpendicular plane with the rear side of the spike-point might be designated as the most essential and important feature of my invention, the compressing-surface on the front side provided with the oblique side facets in front of the cutting-edges being, how-A ever, an important construction which greatly assists in rendering the operation of the improved point capable and satisfactory under all common circumstances and conditions 5 and Y Therefore what I claim as my invention l. A spike having a point providedon each side with diagonal cutting-edges located in the same perpendicular plane with rear side, substantially as set forth.

A spike having a point provided with a sloping compressing-surface on its front side, and with cutting-edges p p, located in a plane with the rear side of the point and diverging from the center diagonally upward to the lateral sides, and with the oblique facets o o on the front sides of the said cutting-edges, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM GOLDIE.

IVitnesses:

GEO. A. HOWARD, WM. H. DE LACY,

IOO

IIO 

